Suicide bombers target Iranian embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, killing 23

A double suicide bombing in Beirut has killed at least 23 people, wounded almost 150, and heightened fears that Lebanon will be sucked into Syria's civil war.

A spokesman for the Lebanese army said a motorcyclist blew himself up moments before a suicide bomber driving a four-wheel-drive detonated his payload near the Iranian Embassy in south Beirut.

An Iranian cultural attaché was among those killed by the explosions which hurled bodies, cars and debris across the street.

Fires engulfed cars outside the embassy and the facades of some buildings were torn off. Carpets of shattered glass from nearby buildings covered the bloodied streets and some trees were uprooted, but the embassy's well-fortified building itself suffered relatively minor damage.

Footage from local news channels showed charred bodies on the ground as flames rose from stricken vehicles. Emergency workers and residents carried victims away in blankets.

Soldiers in camouflage, firefighters and paramedics all rushed to the scene to evacuate the wounded.

Lebanon's long been riven by divisions between Sunni and Shiite Muslims. That's been playing out with the civil war [in Syria] inflaming those tensions, with Sunnis from north Lebanon, for example, including some Australian Lebanese, going to fight with the rebels in Syria, but Shiites from the Shiite militia group Hezbollah in Lebanon going to fight alongside the government, which has been a long-time sponsor of theirs.

Middle East correspondent Matt Brown

Security camera footage showed a man in an explosives belt rushing towards the outer wall of the embassy before blowing himself up, Lebanese officials said.

They said the second explosion was caused by a car bomb parked two buildings away from the compound.

"The first explosion was caused by a suicide attacker who was driving a motorcycle and blew himself up," the army said in a statement.

"The second suicide attacker was driving a 4x4 vehicle and also detonated himself."

Iran's ambassador Ghazanfar Roknabadi said it was clear the attacks targeted his embassy and identified one of the dead as Ebrahim Ansari, a cultural attache who was on his way to work at the diplomatic compound when the bombs exploded.

He did not say whether other embassy officials were among the dead, but Lebanese televisions quoted Iranian diplomatic sources saying none of their staff inside the embassy was hurt.

Mr Roknabadi said laid blame for the attack at the feet of Israel.

"Whoever carries out such an attack in these sensitive circumstances, from whichever faction, knows directly or indirectly that he is serving the interests of the Zionist entity [Israel]," he said.

Southern Beirut, a Hezbollah stronghold, was hit by three explosions earlier this year that were blamed on groups linked to the Syrian rebels, believed to be in retaliation for the group's involvement in Syria's civil war.

Hezbollah fighters have played a crucial combat role for Mr Assad in several battles, but their involvement has increased sectarian tension in Syria and in Lebanon.

Syria basically has become the epicentre of a huge power struggle in the Middle East; a power struggle between the regional superpowers - the Sunnis in Saudi Arabia and the Shiites in Iran, which is also fighting on the side of the Syrian government.

Middle East correspondent Matt Brown

Mostly Sunni Syrian rebels have been supported by foreign jihadi fighters in their struggle to topple Mr Assad, who is from the minority Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shiite Islam.

Many in Lebanon's Sunni community want to see Mr Assad overthrown, while many of its Shiites, especially Hezbollah supporters, are equally determined that he survive.

Hezbollah official Ali Ammar said the attack would not deter the group, known by its supporters as the "resistance".

"Whoever did this is a monstrous terrorist," he said. "The resistance message is that it will continue. It will continue in all its efforts to defeat Israel and defeat the terrorists."Syrian rebel groups, some linked to Al Qaeda, have threatened to take their battle from Syria to Lebanon in response to the military involvement of Iran and Hezbollah alongside Mr Assad's forces.

US secretary of state John Kerry also condemned what he called the "senseless and despicable" bomb attacks, urging all parties to back a Lebanonese probe into the blast.

"The United States knows too well the cost of terrorism directed at our own diplomats around the world, and our hearts go out to the Iranian people after this violent and unjustifiable attack," he said in a statement.

"The United States strongly condemns today's senseless and despicable terrorist bombings at the Iranian Embassy in Beirut.

"We extend our condolences to the victims and their families. We urge all parties to exercise calm and restraint to avoid inflaming the situation further."

Mr Kerry said the US supports Lebanon's pledge to investigate the incident, urging that "those responsible are brought to justice."